Fifty years since its original inception, the African Union (AU) reflects a significantly changed African and global environment. Its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), established in Addis Ababa, on 25 May 1963, was dedicated to combating colonialism, promoting the economic and political future of Africa, defending [...]
The Republic of Sudan and the republic of South Sudan have quietly agreed to re-start oil production. This is, of course, a good thing and is much to be encouraged. In the case of South Sudan, it paves the way for paying back all the short term [...]
The European Union (EU) is evaluating the first ten years of the Africa Peace Facility (APF). The APF was established following the African Union (AU) Summit in Maputo in 2003 as a means to finance (i) the development of African peace support capacity; and (ii) [...]
The Kenya Airways flight banked over Nairobi giving the usual glimpse of the north and western suburbs, Wilson Airport and the Nairobi National Park. With barely a cloud in the sky, the full extent of the major roadworks around Kenya's capital was clear. But something was missing. [...]
Poor people need security in exactly the same way that they need access to clean water, shelter, food, healthcare and education. Security is a basic service and is the business of people, their governments and development programmes. When poor people are safer, then their countries are more [...]
Insecurity in Africa is increasingly acknowledged as a threat to global security. But tackling it often prioritises the interests of the international community at the expense of people in Africa and the Continent’s long-term stability. The nature of the threat is rarely traditional and military [...]
Guinea Bissau has suffered an apparently endless cycle of assassinations and coups. But the problems of the tiny West African country seemed attractively manageable – a small but vociferous military; a corrupt political class; a desperately poor population. The sights of the international community's (proxy) big guns [...]
Southern Sudan is set for independence. Baring some unforeseen upset, it will join the community of nations in July 2011 as the 154th country in the world. It faces a number of severe challenges, but one thing it has in abundance – water. Or does it? [...]
Southern Sudan today begins the process of formally separating from the North. Voting in the referendum begins today and will continue for some time. Voters are almost certain to vote for eventual independence, likely to be in July 2011. At that point Southern Sudan will bring the [...]
In amongst all the hullabaloo over future funding for the UK military, we have learnt that the UK estimates – probably rightly – that there are a number of “Tier 1” threats to the UK’s security. One of these threats is the possibility of conventional warfare with [...]